The Centers for Disease Control
official who managed CDC investigations
into recent disease outbreaks
on international cruise ships will
teach for the next four years at EKU,
thanks to a nationally
unique partnership
between
the University and
the CDC.

Capt. Dan Harper,
deputy chief and senior
environmental health
officer for the CDC’s
Vessel Sanitation Program since 1996, is a
special faculty member in EKU’s Department of
Environmental Health, the nation’s largest
baccalaureate-degree program.

“This is the only agreement of its type in the
United States and another step in the placement
of EKU’s Environmental Health Program in the
national forefront of undergraduate programs in
the field,” said Dr. Darryl Barnett, chair of EKU’s
Department of Environmental Health. “We’re
extremely pleased with the assignment of Captain
Harper. EKU, the CDC and the National Institutes
of Environmental Health intend for it to serve as a
model for duplication by other academic
programs.”

Barnett said the purpose of the partnership
is to:

• Increase the visibility of the U.S. Public Health
Service and attract more students into the
commissioned officer component of the
Department of Health and Human Services.

• Increase the number of minority applicants to
the program.

• Reduce the time for applying current
information and research findings from CDC
and field practice to the classroom.

• Establish a model for academic/professional
practice collaboration.

• Develop models for applied research
collaboration between students, faculty and
federal institutions.

• Develop a leadership institute for environmental
health.

Harper joined the Public Health Service in
1976. Other assignments have included the
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.,
and eight years with the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

A sister agency of CDC, ATSDR was created
by Congress to provide health advice and
assistance to the Environmental Protection
Agency and state and local health and environmental
authorities responsible for cleaning up
more than 900 hazardous waste sites nationwide.
Harper eventually became the deputy director of
Office of Regional Operations in Atlanta,
managing 10 regional offices and 30 senior-level
staff.

While graduates of EKU’s environmental
health program are employed in both the private
and public sectors of environmental health, many
are selected each year for commissioning by the
U.S. Public Health Service. The students then are
assigned environmental health responsibilities in
several branches of the federal government,
including the Indian Health Service, Coast Guard,
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry, the Federal Food and Drug Administration,
the Park Service, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Prisons.

“Since 9/11, the need for environmental
health graduates has accelerated to the point that
most employers will not be able to find qualified
individuals with academic credentials matching
the job responsibilities,” Barnett said. “There are
an estimated 150,000 vacancies in the private
sector and an estimated 30,000 federal and state
openings.

“Environmental health is best defined as
protecting people and populations from
chemical, biological and physical threats to their
health and sense of well-being,” he added.
“Because of our increased awareness of
radiological, biological and chemical risk, the
demand for professionals for the war on
terrorism means new and challenging work
opportunities for our graduates.”

EKU also offers a new executive-style
master’s degree program in public health that
features an extensive environmental health
option.
Harper

EKU’s Justice & Safety Center has
received a $15 million grant from the
U.S. Department of Justice to work
closely with the Center for Rural
Development to address issues of
interoperability between law enforcement,
public safety and “first responder”
agencies in Eastern Kentucky
and to test prototypes of
emerging safety and security technologies
for the national justice and
safety community.

The Touchstone Energy All-A Classic drew players, students and fans from all across the
Commonwealth for five days of basketball action. Here, Ali Shubert of Christian Academy of
Louisville is defended by Tabatha Witt of Betsy Layne High School.